Lebanon
WORLD
Baalbek Clans and the Return of the State
After Salam banned Hezbollah military activities this week, clans across Baalbek-Hermel backed the Lebanese state in terms Beirut rarely hears from that region.
LIFESTYLE
Trade, Not Tribes: Phoenician Culture Spread by Contact, Not Conquest
As a study published in Nature on 23 April 2025 analysed DNA from 210 individuals across 14 Mediterranean sites, researchers discovered that Phoenician ideas travelled further than Phoenician bodies, challenging centuries of assumptions about ancient expansion.
EUROPE
Italy’s Mediterranean Strategy: Why Troops Stay in LebanonÂ
Italy says troops stay south of Lebanon’s Litani after 2026, shifting from UN mandate to bilateral security for energy.
Ukraine War
Economic Diplomacy: Establishing Safety Zones in Ukraine and Lebanon
Negotiators propose turning the volatile front lines of Ukraine and Lebanon into safe commercial hubs, employing trade to secure peace where armies once stood.
EUROPE
The Pope’s Turkey Visit: Eastern Mediterranean as Christianity’s Foundation
Pope Leo XIV's first papal journey to Turkey from 27-30 November 2025 placed the eastern Mediterranean once again at the centre of Catholic imagination, inviting Europe to reconsider how geography shaped its tradition.
Popular
Europe’s Circular Economy Still Struggles to Become Real
Europe's circular economy promises lower emissions, more jobs, and less waste, but it still looks more convincing in briefings than in everyday markets.
Pentagon Freeze Warms Canada-Europe Ties
Washington paused its oldest military partnership with Canada last week, its clearest nudge yet toward Europe.
Congo: Rebel Resurgence Disrupts India’s Africa Plans
An Ebola outbreak in rebel-held Congo shows how dormant wars can spill into wider crises, pulling diplomatic summits and energy security off track.
EU Sanctions Talk Tests Europe’s Red Lines
Europe's latest sanctions talk over an Israeli minister is less about one video than about whether the bloc still acts when its outrage is public and specific.
Mistral Leads Europe and Reveals Its Limits
Mistral has become Europe's clearest AI champion, but its rise also shows how far the continent still is from matching the American frontier on scale, compute, and control.
